Watson king



l WATSON KING, OF SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS..

Letters Patent No. 91,640, dated June 22, 1869.

IIVIPROV'EMENT IN HORSE-RAKES.

The lBollec'iule referred to in these Letters Patent and making partofthe same.

lTo all 'whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WATSON KING, of Springfield, in the county ofSangamon, and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and usefulImprovementsin Horse Hay-Rakes', and dohereby declare that the followingis a full, clear, and' exact description of the same, reference beinghadto the accompanying drawings, making a part of this speoiiicati'on, inwhich- Figure 1 is a plan view of my improved rake;

Figure 2 is a central cross-sectiouon the line x x of g. l;

Figure 3 is a detached side elevation of the devices for revolving theaxle;

Figure 4 is a top view of the same; and

Figure 5 isa broken longitudinal horizontal section l of the axle,showing the manner of securing the teeth therein. l

v Letters ofi likeY name and hind refer t0 lkplt each of the figures.

My invention relates to a class of' horse` hay-rakes, in which the teethare secured to and revolve with the axle; and Y It consists,principallf/in the means employed for securing said teeth within lsaidaxle, and also in the employment and arrangement of the devices forrevolving said axle, as is fully set forth hereinafter.

In the annexed drawing- A represents the axle and rake-head, havingpivotcd upon either end awheel, B, of the usual construction.

The shafts O Care secured to said axle by means of astra-p, c, passingaround the same, so as to allow it to revolve freely within both wheelsand straps.

D D, dto., represent the teeth, which are of the usual form, and areeach secured to the rake-head or axle A by having their upper endsinserted within a transverse mortise, a, in said axle, and a wedge, d,driven into said mortise, so as to fill the same, and press said toothfirmly against its side.

In order that the teeth may not be accidentally withdrawn, and also. toenable them to retain the desired vertical position, the'upper end ofeach is extended through the mortise, and bent to one side, at a iightangle, d', so as to fit-into a longitudinal groove, a', in-

tersecting the forward ends of said mortises at a right angle, asshownfiniig. 5.

E represents a fianged ratchet-wheel, which is secured to the centre ofthe axle'. A ratchet-bar, F, resting upon andengaging with said wheel',is pivoted at its forward end to a lever,'G, which is, in turn, securedto a short shaft, H, working in suitable bearings attuched to thefoot-board Upon the opposite end of said shaft is a curved handle, I,projecting upward, within convenient reach ofthe hand, so that bypressing said handle backward, the lever G is carried downwardandforward, and with it the ratoh et-bar F, revolvingr the ratchet-wheel Eand rake-head A, and dumping the hay. l

Upon one of the anges of the ratchet-wheel is an angular toot-h, e,projecting upward and forward,`which engages with a stop, j', upon oneside of the ratchetbar, said tooth and stop being so adjusted as toprevept the rake-head from revolving when the ratchetbaris thrown back,and the teeth of the rake are in the desired position for gathering thehay, as other- -wise said teeth would be carried backward, and raisedfrom the ground as soon asY they commenced gathering the hay.

A rod, X, is seouredto the foot-board C, and projeoting to the rear, iscaused to .pass over the ratchetwheel and bar, and hold the latter inplace upon said wheel.

Said rod also serves as a stop to prevent the ratchet-bar from beingdrawn ltoo far forward, by engaging with a projection, ff upon l'the end"of said bar. i As the revolution of the rake-head, when. loaded,

would require the expenditure otconsidera-ble strength, provision ismade for. assisting the driver in perform ing such operation.

A number of holes, x' z', 1is provided in the lever G, by means of whichthe 'single-tree is attached thereto, so that thev power necessary todraw the rake is appplied to the same through said lever.

As will -be seen by fig. 2, when the handle I is thrown forward, thelever G projeotsvto the rear, and slightly upward, so as to'bc nearly ona line with the draught, in which position it is so little affected bythe force applied, as to be readily held i n position by placing thedrivers foot upon the handle; but if said handie be allowedv to rise, soas to depress the rear end of said lever below the line of the draught,the power applied through the single-tree will be exerted in such amanner as to still further depress the rear end' 4of lsaid lever, and,by so doing, drawforward the ratchethar, and revolve the rake, dumpingits load. y

It will be observed that when the handleis released, and while the leverG is drawn downward and forward, the forward motion ofthe wheels mustcease, by which means the load is deposited with a certainty and-.ex-

actness that would be ilnpracticable if said, rake were moving forwardand revolving at the same time, whereby all soattering ofthe hay isprevented, and the lsanne neatly placed in windrows, close to which theteeth can commence raking again.

Having thus fully lset forth the nature and merits of my invention,

What I claim as new, and desire to secure byrLetters Patent, is-

The combined axle and' rake-head A, provided with a series of transversemortises, for the reception of the rake-teeth, and with a longitudinalgroove intersecting said xnortises, for the reception ofthe ends of 2said teeth, ysubstantially as and for the purpose speci- Also, thecombination of the teeth D, provided with the angular endv d', mortisea, groove a', and wedged, substantially as andl for the purpose shown. YAlso, the devices for revolving the rake-head, oonsisting of the ratchetwheel E, ratchet-bar F, lever G, shaft H, and handle I, and iucombination therewith, the tooth e upon theiiange of the xatchet-wheel,stops f and f', upon the ratci1et-ba1,and rod x, substantially as shown,and for the purpose' described.

